Creyts House: A Historic Gem with a Universalist Past

Jun 6

By Ed Busch

Have you heard of Creyts House? This house sits at 831 N. Washington in Lansing and has an Ingham County Historical Marker. The marker reads, “Built in 1916 by prominent Lansing businessman P.J. Creyts and wife Minnie. This Mediterranean-style house has two distinctive fronts. Following P.J.’s death in 1943, it was used as a church then office space. The 1994 restoration was in honor of the Creyts legacy.” Did you notice that it was once used as a church? That was us, the First Universalist Church of Lansing!

As I’ve mentioned in a previous blog, around 1928 the church began experiencing a period of diminishing funds, while at the same time their church building (Ottawa and N Capitol) was in need of serious need of repairs. This building was sold around 1939, leaving the congregation without a home. This was also a period without a full-time minister. The congregation met at various locations including the YWCA and Lansing Women’s Club. In 1944, a house was bought at 413 N. Logan but ended up being in poor repair and was sold within a year.

In 1947, the congregation purchased a large house at 831 N. Washington (corner of N. Washington and Oakland) for $20,000. The house was known at that time as “Creyts Homestead” and sat on a large lot. The congregation had big plans for this building and hoped to construct a spacious chapel. An interesting fact: part of the funds used to pay for this house were donated by a small congregation from Eagle, Michigan. They had sold their church building and offered the proceeds to the Lansing congregation. The minister at the time was the Rev. Dr. Frank Adams, a retired minister from Oak Park, Illinois. Adams had been acclaimed by the Chicago Speaker’s Bureau as one of the outstanding preachers of the Midwest and brought new interest in the congregation. His wife, Rev. Helen Adams, served as associate minister. Alas, funds for improvements did not become available. The congregation used this house until 1954 when it moved to its new location, discussed in a previous blog, at Holmes Street and Prospect Avenue.

A 1995 Lansing publication (Profiles) contains an article titled “A Piece of Lansing Restored.” A commercial renovation project was underway to restore the Creyts home to its original splendor. The article quotes developer David Muylle, “Washington street was the place to live back then. Anyone who was anyone lived on Washington Street. Even the parades of the era proceeded down Washington Street, right out in front of where the house now stands.” The article describes the 4000 square foot, two-story house as a Prairie-style house mixed with an interesting Mission-style elements. Following the home’s ownership by our? church, ownership went through an insurance company, title company, and a physician’s office. The article goes on to state that the building fortunately had not seen any major remodeling and many of the original features such as oak flooring, wood trimmings, and polished brass hardware remained.

On October 18, 1995, a ceremony was held at the house to dedicate an Ingham County Historical Marker. The invitation lists guests for this event to include the Honorable Mayor David Hollister, members of the Creyts family, and other dignitaries.

Beginning in 2012, the Historical Society of Greater Lansing leased space at the Creyts House for storing some of their collections and staging exhibits for the public. Titles of these exhibits included “When Everyone Shopped Downtown” (2012), “Lansing School Days” (2012), “Lansing Eats” (2013), “Lansing Votes” (2014), and “Made in Lansing” (2014).

If you look up this address on the online website Zillow, you’ll find the description of the property includes details such as “stately Italianate 2.5 story building,” original clay tile roof, gleaming hardwood floors, and decorative moulding.

It’s nice to see UU Lansing’s former property in such good condition and taken care of. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at one of our congregation's former homes. If you have ideas for a blog, please let me know at uucgl.archives@gmail.com. I’m going to be doing some traveling so there will be a break in my blog publications.

Sources:

1. Thornton, Jerry (1971). Ideas Have Consequences: 125 Years of the Liberal Tradition in the Lansing Area.

2. Busch, Ed, Beckman, Shirley & Schwarzweller, Harry (2011). Dedicated Lives: 162 Years of Liberal ministry and Its Ministers in Lansing, Michigan 1849-2011.

3. Creyts House Invitation. (1995). UU Church of Greater Lansing Records (C4, Box 60, Folder 19). UU Lansing Archives, Lansing, MI.

4. “Historical Society of Greater Lansing” (2024). https://www.lansinghistory.org/our-history .

5. “Zillow” (2024). https://www.zillow.com/homes/831-N.-Washington-street,-lansing,-mi_rb/ .

Images:

1. Ca. 1940 image of the house (from CADL).

2. Historical marker photograph.

3. Photographs taken by Ed Busch, May 31, 2024.